The Listed JC Roberts Stakes 1800m produced a new stakes-winner for the beautifully bred Astern, who was exported to Turkey last year - a sad loss, in my humble opinion but the 2016 G1 Golden Rose hero held his spot on the Darley roster for a good length of time.
The fine son of Medaglia D'Oro now has another Classic contender to follow on from his G1 Caulfield Guineas hero Golden Mile and G1 Australasian Oaks victress Affaire A Suivre in the shape of the impressive JC Roberts Stakes winner Aberdeen Flyer.
Blasting out of maiden status and becoming a stakes winner at just his seventh race start, the Sean and Jake Casey trained Aberdeen Flyer went one better than his second to boom galloper The Crimson Pirate ( Trapeze Artist) in the 1600m Lex Piper Stakes, who was sent out the hot JC Roberts favourite - with only Aberdeen Flyer and the Grant and Alana Williams trained Sentimental Legend (Brutal) given any chance by punters to beat him.
As it turned out, punters had the top three correct, but not the order they finished in! In a pulsating battle to the line the three horses looked set to produce a three way thriller, but it was Aberdeen Flyer who got the upper hand and drew away from Sentimental Legend to win by just under a length with The Crimson Pirate tiring at the last into third place.
The win gave hoop Chris Parnham the feature race double on the day.
Aberdeen Flyer becomes the 17th stakes winner (9th in Australia) for Astern.
He now has the enviable record of a stakes win and two stakes placings from his seven career outings for earnings of $162,010.
Withdrawn from sale as a yearling by breeder Claire Williamson of Willaview Park Stud, the gelding races for a group of owners headed by Claire.
Will he stay a Derby trip? Well, it's going to help immensely that he is out of a daughter of mighty Teofilo.
This is the winning Godolphin-bred mare Templates owned by Willaview Park, and Aberdeen Flyer is her first foal so she is off to a flying start indeed.
Her second is a filly by Shooting To Win named Dixie Doo who has just commenced racing.
Templates had a 2024 colt by Splintex and last year produced a filly to that son of Snitzel, before being served by Maschino.
Her dam Copy by Street Cry won three races and had four to race for four winners. Now privately owned, she has a Hellbent filly to come and is back in foal to him.
Third dam of Aberdeen Flyer is the excellent Stravinsky daughter Plagiarize who won the G2 Silver Slipper at two and was a half sister to G1 NZ Oaks winner Tapildo (Rhythm) and to the dam of the durable G1 sprinter Japonisme l(Choisir).
Plagiarize left only two daughters, the second of them Attribution by Exceed And Excel is also breeding on.
All the above descend from the Sir Tristram daughter Emulate, bred at Cambridge Stud from the imported Artaius mare Concert Time ( thus duplicating one of the key crosses which produced Zabeel's turf immortal Might And Power)
This female line descends from the Yorkshire Oaks heroine West Side Story by Rockefella - it's the immediate family of the great Kiwi sprinter miler Balmuse.
It descends from the Falmouth Stakes winner Red Shoes - West Side Story was a half sister to her son Red Gauntlet who became a successful sire in Australia, and a full sister to Red Poppy who would become ancestress of the champion 5 x G1 winning filly User Friendly - her daughter Starspangled is the last Danehill mare breeding in Australia, and is the dam of G1 winning mares Funstar and Youngstar as well as the dual G1 producer Baggy Green.
Starspangled’s daughter Starphistocated ( Churchill) is currently a stakes performer and the amazing old girl has colts by Adelaide and Ghaiyyath to come, with a Native Trail baby on board. Long may she reign.
At the fount of Aberdeen Flyer’s damline we find Picture Play, from Amuse, out of Absurdity who was a full sister to the dam of La Troienne. A family of Blue Hens like no other.
Aberdeen Flyer is bred
Sadler's Wells 4m x 4m
Danehill 4m x 4f sex balanced
Nureyev provides the important sex balance of Blue Hen Special for Sadler's Wells, and linebreeding to Blue Hen Almahmoud features along with, of course La Troienne
Street Cry and El Prado are (distant) relatives while Lomond and Mr Prospector are closer. This pedigree boasts sex balanced duplications of Sir Ivor, Round Table, My Babu and more.
Sired by the G1 Winterbottom Stakes hero Paulele, a grandson of Galileo's New Approach, this is the first foal from the seven time winning Exceed And Excel mare Exact Replica, a three quarter sister to stakes placed Piracy.
Second dam Copy by Street Cry has had four to race for four winners including Aberdeen Flyer's dam Templates (Teofilo)
This filly is bred 4m x 3m to Danehill.
.jpg)
